RIYADH - The General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) has started automatically extending the validity of residency permit (iqama) and exit and re-entry visa without charging expatriate fee or any other fees until Jan.31, 2022. Expatriates who are from countries facing travel ban will be the beneficiaries of this initiative taken in line with implementation of the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The extension will not be applicable to those expatriates who are fully vaccinated within the Kingdom before their departure on exit and reentry visa. The King's directive also include extending the validity of visit visa issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for visitors who are outside the Kingdom and who are from countries facing travel ban as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus. The period of extension will be until Jan. 31. Minister of Finance issued the necessary orders in this regard. This extension falls within the government's continuing efforts to deal with the repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic. It also falls within precautionary measures and preventive protocols that ensure the safety of citizens and expatriates and contribute to mitigating financial and economic impacts of the pandemic. The Jawazat stated that the extension will be carried out automatically in cooperation with the National Information Centre without the need to personally visiting any Jawazat departments.
